India favourites in sudden-death battle

India are 4/5 favourites to win the second and final Test which begins at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Following a strong batting performance in the first Test, South Africa have come in to 11/2, with the draw 8/5.

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Kolkata history
The last match at Eden Gardens was a high-scoring draw against West Indies in 2002/3 - second innings centuries from man-of-the-match Tendulkar and Laxman enlivened an otherwise dull match. West Indies only batted once, with five wickets snared by man-of-the-series Harbhajan Singh and three for Anil Kumble. Harbhajan had been the star turn with the ball in the historic Test of 2000/1 against Australia, overshadowed only by VVS Laxman's innings of 281 when India followed on.

Man-of-the-Match betting
Andrew Hall had long odds to win the match award in the last Test, and the stand-in opener is 12/1 to repeat the feat in this game. The bookies anticipate a spin-friendly surface, and it is therefore no surprise that Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble are joint 7/1 favourites with Indian talisman Sachin Tendulkar. In-form Virender Sehwag is an attractive prospect at 9/1, while Robin Peterson looks a good outside bet at 28/1. Laxman, Man of the Match in 2001, is 12/1 to be it this time.

Top Batsman
Sachin Tendulkar averages a meagre 39.9 at Kolkata, as opposed to his overall average of 56.1. His last innings at the ground, however, was a big one - 176 against West Indies - and the little master is 10/3 favourite to top score for India in the first innings. Dravid and Laxman lit up Eden Gardens in 2001, and are 4/1 and 5/1 respectively to top the Indian first innings in run-scoring.

For South Africa, Andrew Hall comes in to third favourite at 6/1 to repeat his Kanpur heroics in the first innings, while Jacques Kallis has a Tendulkar-like price of 10/3. Jacques Rudolph missed out at Kanpur, yet has the same odds as Hall to top score, and is worth considering.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.